The Disappearance  of Ryohei Sasagawa one shot
by abrasiveCrusader
Summary: Persona crossover! Akihiko replaces Ryohei! See what life is kinda like for Akihiko in Nami  nothing to big. Just meeting of characters rather the mafia involvement.  Rated Teen for language. Does have some spoilers here!


It was a normal day for Akihiko Sanada. Well, it was normal to begin with. It was around after school, when he went to go get some ramen at Hagakure's that he felt a strange pull in his stomach. It felt as something had hit him and was dragging him in. The feeling faded away after awhile, but he quickly lost his appetite and retreated to his dorm.

He tried to ignore the feeling, and went to his room to sleep it off. But when he came to, he had awoken in a different, yet similar room.

"…Where am I?" He asked no one in particular, feeling light headed and dizzy.

The room he was in was oddly similar to his room back in Iwatodai. The room was filled with training equipment, as well as shelves stocked with boxing trophies. Akihiko was tired, so he thought he may have been imagining things. He pulled the covers over him and went back to sleep, hoping this to be a dream, and once he woke up again, he will be in Port Island.

But no matter how long he slept, he was still in the same room. It was clear that it wasn't a dream, and Akihiko couldn't stand staying in a placed for an extended period of time with nothing to do. He decided to get out of the bed, which had an odd smell to it, and explore the area.

But before he even got to the door, somebody else knocked on it, before promptly letting themselves in.

"Big Brother, wake up, you're gonna be late for-" the girl then looked at Akihiko, "Who are you? Where's big brother?" she yelped.

"W-wait, wait, this isn't what it looks like!" Akihiko tried calming her down, despite sounding like an intruder.

"Why are you in our house? Who are you?" she panicked, "Where's Ryohei?"

"Calm down, calm down." Akihiko made a friendly gesture to show that he meant no harm.

He managed to soothe the crying girl.

"My name is Akihiko Sanada, I'm from a place called Tatsumi Port Island." Akihiko explained, "I'm not really sure how I got here. Can you tell me where I am?"

"You're in Namimori…" the girl sniffled, "Did big brother get in trouble? Do you know where he went?"

"I…I don't know. If anything, he probably switched places with me. I don't have an exact logical explanation for it, but if I have arrived from somewhere as far as Port Island to here without noticing it, he would have probably experience the same thing as well." Akihiko assessed the situation, "Hey, what's your name? I never got to ask."

"I'm Kyoko Sasagawa." she said, cheering up a bit.

"Well Kyoko, I'm sure your big brother is just fine." Akihiko smiled, "But if you'll excuse me, I have try and contact my friends. I'm sure they're worried sick about me."

Akihiko pulled out his cell phone, only to find out that the batteries had ran out.

"Dammit." he mumbled in a soft voice.

"Is there something wrong?" Kyoko asked.

"No, nothing to big. My cell phone ran out of batteries. Is there a cell phone shop around here?"

"There is. But it's in downtown. I can take you there, but I have to go to school…"

"Oh, no problem. I can wait for you here."

"I don't think it a good idea. What happens if mom or dad sees you?"

"Oh…right." Akihiko sounded disappointed, as he wanted to spend some time training with Ryohei's impressive looking equipment, "So…what do you me to do? I can't just wait here, so?"

"You can come to school with me." Kyoko suggested, "You kind of resemble my big brother. He has very light hair, but wears the bandage on his nose instead of his forehe-" Kyoko looked at Akihiko's bandage on his left (our right) temple, "Actually, it can work. Ryohei has a scar right where your bandage is at, so if you keep it there, you can hide it."

"S-school?" Akihiko sounded anxious, "I mean, I don't mind, but are you sure? Don't you think people will notice the difference right away?"

"No, I think you'll be fine. Besides, Ryohei can't have anymore absences, otherwise he'll fail. If you can fill in for him…"

"But the teachers, they'll definitely see the difference!"

"Just try blending in. They don't really pick on Ryohei anyway, since he's not an overachiever…"

"Ummm…alright…" Ryohei took up Kyoko's offer and decided to pose as Ryohei for the day.

Kyoko manage to find a spare Namimori middle school uniform, but since Akihiko was already a senior in high school, the uniform didn't fit him well. If it weren't for the height differences, the outfit would suit him nicely, but being a 3rd year made thing surprisingly difficult, since he and Ryohei were only 2 years apart.

"It doesn't fit. You can see my ankles, and the undershirt is too small." Akihiko complained, "Argh, this isn't gonna work."

"Wait, I got just the thing." Kyoko ran and came back with another pair of trousers and undershirt, "These are my dad's, I think it might fit you."

Surely enough, they were the perfect fit for Akihiko. Kyoko looked at Akihiko with those big eyes of hers, he couldn't refuse.

"Alright, you win." Akihiko sighed in defeat, "I guess I can't say no to you."

When Kyoko led him to Namimori, she showed him his classes and lent him Ryohei's books. When Akihiko arrived to his class, he couldn't help but to hear some people talking behind him.

"Is that Ryohei Sasagawa?" a boy said, "Does he look different to you?"

"Yeah, he got cuter." a girl whispered back, "Wow, he really looks more mature, you know?"

Akihiko shrugged off those comments, as he was already used to gossip back in Gekkoukan. Namimori was no different. He casually went into 'his' class, and sat down where Kyoko told him where Ryohei's seat was at. In fact, he was actually more surprise that the disguise was actually working.

"…Man, I can't believe people are actually buying this." he snickered in his a quiet voice.

He had already learnt everything that was being taught in this class, and felt like he didn't need to pay attention. He put his head down and went to sleep.

"Sasagawa!" the teacher yelled.

Akihiko didn't respond, since he was not used to being called 'Sasagawa' or 'Ryohei' yet. He more or less ignored the poor guy.

"Sasagawa!" the teacher said again, this time throwing an eraser at Akihiko head.

"Ow, what?" Akihiko groaned, as he woke up from his nap.

"Sasagawa, why are you sleeping in _my_ class? You sure act high and mighty for someone who got a 5 on their test." the teacher insulted.

The rest of the class snickered, leaving Akihiko feeling quite angry. He doesn't care about how people see him, but he couldn't let the teacher get away with humiliating him, his pride was at stake.

"Oh yeah, what's the problem? I bet you I can solve it." Akihiko said defiantly.

"Heh, think you're tough Sasagawa? Alright, here you go." the teacher scribbled up a basic linear equation on the board, "Don't worry Sasagawa, I dumb it down so even idiots like you can get it."

Effortlessly, Akihiko solved the problem seconds after he wrote it on the board. Even though he had already learned it during his middle school days, even if he didn't learn it, Akihiko would have still solved the problem. He was an ideal type of guy, good looking, smart, and captain of the Gekkoukan Boxing team.

"Wow, I never knew that Ryohei was so cool!" one of the females in his class whispered.

"Heh, I went easy on you, here, try this one then, if you're confident enough Sasagawa." the teacher wrote up another problem on the board, though this time, it was considerably more difficult.

Again, Akihiko had solved the problem without any problems. Flustered, the teacher told him to get back in his seat. After class, the teacher spoke to him privately.

"Who are you? Ryohei Sasagawa isn't an 'A' type of student, so how did you get the answer? Did you cheat?"

"No Sensei, I just spent the last few weeks getting tutored by a friend." Akihiko lied.

"…Ryohei Sasagawa isn't supposed to be this tall either. Last time I saw you, you were a head shorter."

"Puberty, Sensei. It happens to all of us." Akihiko yawned calmly, without a care in the world.

"…Fine. There's something fishy going on though, so don't think you're off the hook yet."

The teacher dismissed Akihiko from his class.

After school, Akihiko had met up with Kyoko in front of the school entrance.

"Sanada-san!" Kyoko waved at Akihiko, "I hope you're alright, how was school?"

"Heh, too easy." Akihiko said, prideful, "So, if you can, will you take me downtown? Mitsuru must be worried right now… Man, I hope your brother didn't do anything to offend my friends, it be trouble if he got 'executed' by Mitsuru."

"E-executed?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing too severe." Akihiko laughed, "Come on, let's go."

"Alright, follow me." Kyoko grabbed Akihiko's arm and led the way.

However, they didn't go alone. Before Kyoko left, Tsuna managed to spot her amongst the crowd of people, and was going to ask if she wanted to walk home with him. He spotted Akihiko with Kyoko, and at first glance, he could tell right away that he was not Ryohei. Maybe it was jealously, or maybe it was curiosity, but any who, Tsuna had decided to follow Kyoko and Akihiko, as stealthily as he could. But of course and always, his friends Yamamoto and Gokudera, as well as his infant home tutor, decided to tag along.

"Hmmm…" Reborn hummed as he sat in the bus seat with Tsuna and the others, a few good seats away from where Kyoko was sitting at.

"What's the matter Reborn?" Tsuna asked.

"I have a feeling that that white haired man isn't from here."

"How can you tell?"

"Look at his outfit. Does it seem like any uniforms around here?"

Tsuna had noticed that Akihiko had changed from the Namimori uniform into a new change of clothes. He sported his signature red vest, along with his own dress shirt and pair of boxing gloves. There was a small black bow that tied around his collar area, which Tsuna found strange since it's more usual to see guys wearing ties, not bows. Tsuna had no idea what school that guy belonged to, and wondered why he was going on the bus with Kyoko.

Then, a sudden strike of paranoia hit him.

"Oh no, that can't be Kyoko-chan's boyfriend can it?" Tsuna gripped his head, "No it can't be…he looks too much like Ryohei, there's no way she can be interested!"

The bus made a stop, and the pair proceed to leave.

"Crap, hey guys, we gotta tail them!"

Tsuna ran out the bus, with Yamamoto and Gokudera following suit.

"Hey Tsuna, what are we doing?" Yamamoto inquired.

"Shut up, you don't question the Tenth's motive. We only do as we're told, we don't ask questions." Gokudera snarled. "But, ummm Tenth, please, tell the baseball freak what we're doing here so he can shut up."

"…_Gokudera is curious too…. But, I can't blame them, since I asked them to follow me without telling them where we're going…" _Tsuna thought. "That guy Kyoko is with. Doesn't he seem…suspicious?"

"Who, him?" Yamamoto pointed at Akihiko's back, "No, he just looks like a regular guy to me."

"He kinda resemble lawn head." Gokudera commented.

"No, no, I mean, doesn't it seem strange that he's with Kyoko? I mean, he has to at least be in high school. I mean, we're still in middle school, so it should be weird seeing someone as old as him with someone as young as us."

"They could be related. I mean, he does look a lot like senpai…" Yamamoto suggested.

"…Huh…you could be right. I never thought of that…" Tsuna looked as if stress was relived from him, "What am I doing, worrying about this." he laughed.

As Tsuna was going to pull back, three thugs had jumped on Akihiko and Kyoko.

"Tenth, wait! Look!"

The three thugs looked smug at Akihiko, then at Kyoko.

"Hey Kyoko-chan~ What are you doing with a guy like that?" the first thug said.

"Wouldn't the school's diva rather hang out with us instead?" the second thug licked his lips.

"Come on, ditch that loser and come with us, we can show you a good time." the third one sneered.

"No thanks…" she said softly.

"What's that? Couldn't hear ya." the first thug grabbed Kyoko, "Daisuke don't take no for an answer."

Akihiko pulled on the shoulder of the first thug, "Hey, she said she doesn't want to go."

"Huh? Who the hell do you think you are? This doesn't concern you." the thug glared at Akihiko, "What are you, some kind of creep for wanting to go out as someone as young as her?"

"Heh, can't you say the same for you, _creep_?"

"What was that?" the thug said angrily, "Why you son of a-" the thug balled up his fist and pulled back.

"Tsuna! He's gonna punch that guy, what do you want us to do?" Yamamoto asked.

"Do you have to ask? We gotta help him-"

"Wait." Out of almost nowhere, the little baby named Reborn appeared to stop Tsuna's interference.

"Reborn, stop, can't you see he's gonna get hur-"

Reborn smacked Tsuna's face, "Just calm down and watch."

Tsuna rubbed his cheek and did as he was told.

When the thug threw a punch, Akihiko side-stepped out of the way, grabbing Kyoko back from the thug's clutches.

"Why you little-" the thug picked himself back up, "What the hell are you waiting for? Get him!"

The main thug and his lackeys surrounded Akihiko and Kyoko.

"Hey, Kyoko, go take some cover." Akihiko prompted Kyoko.

"But Akihiko-san, you might get-"

"Don't worry about it. I won't get beaten by these losers. Go, your brother will never forgive me if I let you get hurt. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself as well, so go." Akihiko reassuring smile.

"Alright." Kyoko ran out of the way, hoping to stay as far away as possible without losing sight of Akihiko.

"Hey, don't let her escape!" the thug named Daisuke said, "I'll take care of the white haired freak, you go after her!"

The other thugs nodded their heads, and were to begin pursuit. But Akihiko didn't let them through. He stood right in the center of the alleyway, blocking their path.

"Outta the way!" they yelled.

"Sorry, afraid I can't let you do that." Akihiko smirked as he donned his leather gloves on.

He then assumed the southpaw boxing style, shifting his weight around for any sudden movements they might make.

"Punk!" the second thug said as he swung and missed.

Akihiko jabbed his sides, right before giving him a left hook on his face, promptly knocking him out.

"Ugh!" the second thug groaned as he fell.

"You bitch! That was my brother!" the third thug flung himself at Akihiko, but again, Akihiko easily dodged his assault, and gave him an uppercut on his chin. He didn't hit him hard enough to knock him out, but enough for him to be unable to fight from the pain.

Akihiko shook his right hand from the impact of the uppercut. The chin was one of the most strongest bones in the body, so hitting it would hurt, at the very least. After he shook the last of the pain out, he faced the first thug.

"Y-you monster!" he yelled as he pulled a switchblade out from his pocket.

"I'm the monster?" he scoffed, "Then what the hell does that make you?"

"He has a knife!" Tsuna gasped, "That's not fair!"

"Hey, look." Yamamoto pointed out that the thug that Akihiko incapacitated got up, and grabbed the nearest blunt object, ready to hit Akihiko from the back.

"Damn cowards." Gokudera hissed.

"Reborn!"

"…Alright, you can go. I've already seen enough of his abilities."

As soon as Reborn gave the permission, the trio sped to Akihiko's assistance.

Akihiko managed to jump out of the way from the third thug, but barely managed to escape the first one's knife, earning a small cut on his lower thigh. He manage to catch himself before falling, but had to quickly maneuver out of the way from the first thug's second assault.

"Dammit, if this keeps going on, I might have to use Persona…" he mumbled, "But Mitsuru will execute me if she found out I used it on normal civilians… Dammit!"

Akihiko gave another hook to the third brother in the stomach, stunning him long enough for him to distance himself away from the first. He then caught the first thug off guard and manage to slam him with a fist to the kidneys.

Akihiko wasn't used to fighting in such a narrow area. If the area was more wide, then things would have been more to his advantage, as his boxing style is usually best suited in a larger area, giving him more space to evade and counterstrike. But, to the best of his luck, Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto had arrived to his assistance.

"What? What the hell are you kids doing here? It's not safe, get out of here!" Akihiko felt as he had an obligation to protect them.

"Shut up!" Gokudera yelled as he pulled out his sticks of dynamites, "Be grateful we're even bothering helping with you!"

"No worries, no worries, we've got this~" Yamamoto smiled as he grabbed his kendo stick.

"Eep, wait, what am I going to do?" Tsuna forgot that he didn't have his dying will with him, since Reborn didn't bother shooting him with the bullet.

"…Dynamite…a kendo stick, and a timid little kid…I don't know if I should be surprised or worried." Akihiko murmured.

However, with his new backup, the two thugs were easily taken care of. After Gokudera had stunned the two with his explosions, Yamamoto knocked them out with his kendo stick by striking them lightly by the back of their heads. It was all over in a instant.

"Heh, not bad, not bad at all…" Akihiko smiled, "But, you should be more careful with those explosives. I won't report you to the police, but you shouldn't be in possession of them." he said directly to Gokudera.

"What was that?" Gokudera yelled.

"You also shouldn't smoke." Akihiko, who towered over Gokudera, plucked the cigarette out of his mouth and flicked it away, "You're destroying your lungs and health, and I'm sure you're not even legal yet. You should find another alternative to relieve your stress, like running or training or finding a club to join, like your friend here."

Gokudera, who was furious, was about to attempt to beat up Akihiko.

Yamamoto, however, laughed it off and patted on Gokudera's back, siding with Akihiko. Tsuna, who did absolutely nothing in the fight just stood there in the background.

"Say, where'd that girl go?" Akihiko looked around, "Kyoko?" he called out, "It's safe now, you can come out."

She appeared from behind the boxes near the end of the alleyway, and ran up to hug Akihiko.

"Are you okay Akihiko-san?" she said as held onto him with tears flowing out of her eyes.

"…" Akihiko was at first, speechless, reminded of a certain girl he knew back home. He patted her back, like a father to a child, "Yeah, I'm alright."

Tsuna, who was staring at the two had a horrible expression of despair on his face.

"Oh, that's right, can you take me to the phone shop?" Akihiko remembered, "It's getting late and we should get there as soon as we can."

"Alright…" Kyoko wiped away her tears again.

"…Hey." Akihiko put his hand on her shoulder, "You know you shouldn't cry."

"Huh?" Kyoko looked at him, confused.

"You look best when you're smiling." Akihiko said, "Seeing you sad makes me feel sad for some reason, so try not to cry."

"O-okay…" Kyoko blushed.

Tsuna looked at them with even more shock.

She led him to the nearest cell shop she could remember, with Tsuna's group following just because they had nothing better to do.

"Here it is Akihiko-san." Kyoko opened the door for him.

"Alright, thanks. You guys stay out here, I'll be quick."

As soon as Akihiko left, Tsuna finally asked his question.

"Kyoko-chan, who is that guy?" Tsuna asked.

"Oh, that's right, he never told you his name. His name is Akihiko Sanada. It's amazing, he came from this place called Tatsumi Port Island, and switched places with Brother." Kyoko answered.

"Didn't he seem a little suspicious to you, why did you trust him so easily? What happened if he was a bad guy? You could have gotten hurt!" Tsuna said, worried.

"No, I don't think Akihiko-san is a bad person. He's really nice, he even bought me some cake before we left."

"He did?" Tsuna said in a brief moment of surprise and jealousy.

"Yeah! He saw me looking at the bakery, and asked me, 'Are you hungry? If you want, I can buy you something to eat, my treat.' and then he pulled out his wallet and bought me whatever cake I wanted!" Kyoko smiled, "He's a lot like Ryohei, only more mature."

"…Oh, so he's like Ryohei to you." Tsuna sighed in relief again. _"I have to stop getting paranoid…"_

"Oh, there he is now!"

Akihiko came out with a plastic bag in hand. He bought a phone charger, but since it would take him some time to fully charge his phone, he decided to take them all out to eat while he waited.

"So, where do you guys want to go out to eat? It's on me, and don't worry about the price, I have it covered." Akihiko was surprisingly kind to them, "It's the least I can do after you guys helped me out."

"Let's get some ramen!" Yamamoto shouted cheerfully.

"Yamamoto, no, it's rude." Tsuna whispered to him.

"No, no, it's okay. I don't mind." Akihiko overheard them, "Don't worry, I've got it covered."

After much persuasion, Akihiko took the Nami kids to a ramen shop Kyoko had suggested.

Along the way, they heard a very familiar voice running about in the streets, yelling obnoxiously to almost anybody.

"Ha ha! The great and powerful Lambo commands you to feed him sweets!" a little boy in a cow suit said to random strangers.

"Oh no, it's Lambo!" Tsuna said embarrassingly.

"Huh?" Lambo spotted Tsuna, "Tsuna!" Lambo ran up to Tsuna and grabbed his leg. "Ha ha, you're it!"

"Hey you stupid cow, off the Tenth!"

"…I'm confused. Do you guys know him or something?" Akihiko asked.

"Uhh, no, no I don't!" Tsuna denied.

"Oh, Lambo-kun, it's good to see you again." Kyoko offered a lollipop to him.

"Yay, lollipop!" Lambo took the lollipop from Kyoko and turned to Gokudera, grinning as he mocked him, "Ha ha, Stupidera doesn't get a lollipop because he's stupid!" Lambo taunted.

"Why you piece of snot!" Gokudera kicked Lambo across the street.

"H-hey! You can't do that to a kid!" Akihiko yelled at Gokudera while he went to fetch Lambo.

"Shut up, I do whatever the hell I want." he mumbled back.

"Whatever, I'll deal with you later." Akihiko left to check up on Lambo, "Hey, are you alright?"

Lambo pulled the lollipop that Kyoko gave him. It was shattered into little pieces. Lambo sniffed and sniffed.

"Gotta…stay…calm…." Lambo then proceeded to cry very loudly.

"Aw, see what you did?" Akihiko yelled at Gokudera, "There, there, it's alright. It's alright…"

Lambo somehow pulled out a bazooka from his hair, surprising Akihiko.

"What the h-"

Before he could say anymore, a giant explosion was heard.

"Akihiko-san!" Tsuna yelled, "Don't tell me Lambo used the 10-year-old bazooka… T-that means!"

When the smoke cleared up, the 5-year-old Lambo was replaced with his future self, and the 17-year-old Akihiko was replaced with his 27-year-old self.

"What the…" he had a deeper tone, "What happened?"

Akihiko was wearing a suit. He had grow somewhat taller, with the bandage now gone and his red vest replaced with a very professional looking attire.

"I remember I was doing a case in Ayanagi city…but…where am I?" he looked around, "What the…?" the older Akihiko noticed the older Lambo in his lap, "Who the hell are you? Get offa me!"

"Huh, what am I doing here?" the 15-year-old Lambo rubbed his head.

"I said, 'Get off!" Akihiko shoved Lambo off his lap, making quite a scene in public.

The older Lambo somehow hit his head on a cart nearby, promptly knocking him out.

"…Oops…" Akihiko realized that he pushed to hard, "I should go check up on…" Akihiko looked up to see a slightly confused Kyoko staring at him.

"Akihiko-san?" Kyoko asked.

"Huh? …Hey, aren't you that girl from 10 years ago? What are you doing here- wait, why do you still look so young? It's like you haven't changed!" Akihiko rubbed his head, "Am I…dreaming?"

He looked at Kyoko again, and started to pull her cheeks, "No, you feel real to me." He then let go.

"K-Kyoko-chan, are you okay?" Tsuna asked as Kyoko rubbed her cheeks.

"No, I'm fine, but what happened to Akihiko-san? Why does he look so much older?"

"I-it must be because of all the smoke! It's creating an optical illusion and his making him delirious!" Tsuna lied, "Right guys?"

"R-right! Research shows that water vapors can sometimes cause the bending of light, making some things appear bigger or smaller." Gokudera made up a bunch of 'facts' on spot.

"Yeah, what he said." Yamamoto added.

Soon enough, after the older Akihiko came to his sense, the 10-year effect wore off, and both Lambo and Akihiko returned to normal.

"What just happened?" Akihiko asked, holding Lambo in his arms, "I was just somewhere else, now I'm back here again."

"It's because of Lambo's superpowers!" Lambo shouted.

"Ummm…okay…I won't question it…I think I rather not know…" Akihiko said, still dazed and confused to his trip to the future, "What was I doing?"

"You were going to take us all out to eat!" Yamamoto smiled.

"Yamamoto-kun!" Tsuna whispered again.

"R-right…" Akihiko mumbled, still in shock about what was going on, "L-let's go."

They went in a ramen store, and ate as much as Akihiko could offer.

"Shoot…" Akihiko said back in his normal self, "I didn't think it'd be this expensive…"

"So Akihiko-san, it's not that I want to be rude or anything, but why are you so nice to us?" Tsuna said as he finished up his bowl.

"Well, to tell the truth, you guys remind me of a couple of people back home." Akihiko said as he scarfed down another bowl, "One of my friends like playing baseball, another one is a bit of a loner who hangs out in the bad parts of the street, another one that's really quiet, and even a little kid."

"Wow, that's a lot of people!" Tsuna commented.

"L-loner? Bad parts of streets?" Gokudera whispered to himself, wondering if Akihiko was referring to him.

"Nah, these people are my dorm mates as well. I guess you can consider them friends, since we do hang out together every now and then." Akihiko finished his last bowl of ramen. "Man, that was good." he wiped his mouth.

He called one of the waitress to give him the check. She fetched the bill, rather quickly, and gave him a 15% discount stamp, as it was more than obvious that she had a crush on him, since she was practically drooling over him ever since he came into the store.

Akihiko grabbed his wallet from his back pocket, but when he found out that he didn't have enough money, he decided to use his credit card. However, when he pulled out his card, he used a bit too much force, which led to him spilling some of the other contents of his wallet on the ground.

"Oh, dammit." he said as he bent down to pick it up.

The others decided to help him out by picking up some of the cards scattered across the floor. Gym Membership card, some business cards of certain restaurants, a school id. But a few things stood out the most. Kyoko picked up two pieces of paper from the floor. It was two pictures, on that seemed years old, and another that seem fairly recent.

"Akihiko-san, who's this?" she asked innocently.

"Huh, where'd you get that?" he said as he yanked the pictures back from her, "I=it's nobody."

"Was she your sister?" Kyoko asked.

"I said it wasn't nobody!" he snapped.

"…I'm sorry…" Kyoko whimpered.

"Ngh…" he grunted, "No, don't apologize, I'm sorry I yelled, I just don't want to talk about it."

When they were leaving the shop, Tsuna whispered to Kyoko to tell him who were in those pictures. Kyoko described the girl in the newer picture as a teenager wearing a uniform with brownish red hair and her hair tied up. When asked about the second one, Kyoko couldn't respond, since she didn't get a good look at the picture, but noted that it looked very old, and was possibly damaged. She then looked ahead at Akihiko, who was in the front of them and then hung her head low, not wanting to cause anymore trouble for him, decided to keep quiet.

Soon, they separated, Yamamoto going back to his own home, Gokudera to his apartment, and finally Tsuna, who waved goodbye a couple of times before going in his house. Kyoko and Akihiko then left together for the Sasagawa residence.

When they got back to Kyoko's house, Kyoko manage to convince to her parents that Akihiko was Ryohei's friend, and that they were doing a dare to live in each other's shoes.

"Okay, you can stay in Ryohei's room for tonight." Kyoko said.

"Thanks. Oh yeah, my phone." Akihiko grabbed his cell phone, "I'm sorry, I have to make a call."

Kyoko understood and politely left the room. Akihiko flipped open his cell, scrolled down his list of contacts, and dialed a number.

"…Mitsuru, are you there?" Akihiko asked.

"Akihiko!" a clear sharp response was heard from the other line.

Akihiko pulled the phone away from his ear.

"Akihiko, where are you? Why didn't you respond?"

"Sorry, sorry, my phone died on me and I didn't have my charger. I'm in a place called Namimori right now, do you think you can send a ride?"

"Namimori? That's pretty far away. I guess I can send a chopper to pick you up tonight."

"No, no! No chopper! We don't need to surprise any of the residents. Just send a car or something."

"…A car? It'll be morning by the time they reach there."

"It's fine, it's fine, don't worry about it. By the way, is there another guy named Ryohei that might have switched places with me?"

"Ryohei? You mean that eccentric boxer? Yeah, we kept him confined in the command center so he wouldn't cause any trouble. I hope you won't mind, but we lent him some of your stuff to train with. He was getting bored and wouldn't stop complaining."

"…It's alright. Do you think you can bring him along as well?"

"Alright. I'll send a car right now. Remember, they'll call you when they're outside, just tell them the address beforehand, I'll give you their number."

"Alright, thanks Mitsuru."

"Okay, take care Akihiko."

They both hung up.

"Well then, I might as well get some rest." Akihiko yawned

Akihiko plopped himself in Ryohei's bed. He pulled the sheets over himself and fell asleep, despite being in an unfamiliar bed. He then later woke up at a certain time at night, and checked downstairs to see if things were alright. Everything had a greenish glow, the walls oozed with what seemed like blood and all the residences of the Sasagawa family were transmogrified in their own separate coffins. Though frightful to some, this was a normal for Akihiko. They were safe from the dangers of this world, the dark hour. He made sure that he kept himself safe from any shadows, as hey can appear from anyway at anytime. His evoker-shaped gun which he cleverly hid under his clothing was drawn out. He donned on his boxing gloves, and left outside to scan the areas for any shadows.

Unsurprisingly enough, there were scarcely any, since he was so far away from Tartarus. He killed off any small fry he found, in order to keep his skills from getting rusty. When the hour drew near to its end, he headed back indoors. The home went back to normal, and all the family members were soundly asleep in their beds.

It was arounf four in the morning when he got his phone call. Akihiko woke up to pick up the phone, hoping that no one had heard the annoying buzzing noise of his ring tone.

"Hello?" he spoke quietly.

"Sanada-san, is that you?" a man on the other line of the receiver spoke, "I am the man who was supposed to pick you up. My name is Tanaka."

"Oh, yes, was is it?"

"We have arrived in Namimori, may you please give us the address of the house you are staying in?"

"Alright."

Akihiko headed outside to check the address of the house. He relayed the information to the driver.

"Thank you, we will be there shortly. If you can, please wait outside for us."

"…Alright. I'll see you then." Akihiko hung up. It was cold outside, but he had to get used to it. If he fell asleep again, he probably wouldn't wake up the next time they call.

Akihiko ran back inside to change out of Ryohei's sleeping pajamas (they fitted for the most part) back into his uniform before heading out. He grabbed whatever he brought (and bought) with him. When he headed outside the door, he heard footsteps following after him. To his surprise, it was Kyoko who followed him.

"I heard the door opening and closing." she said half-asleep, "Are you going somewhere?"

Akihiko looked down. He had forgotten to tell Kyoko that he was leaving. Well, it's not that he had forgotten, but more that he did not want to. He felt that saying goodbye might be a bit disheartening for him, since Kyoko remind him so much of that certain somebody.

"…I…" he was hesitant, "I have to go." he finally said.

"Oh…" she said as if she had realized it long ago, "I see…"

There was that awkward moment of silence. Akihiko couldn't look at her. He felt as he was doing it all over again. Abandoning her. Leaving her to die.

The memory kept replaying in his head. His sister. The orphanage. The fire. The fire that engulfed everything that day. His hopes, his dreams, his sister. Everything burned into ashes, leaving him with nothing. It was a heavy feeling in his heart, that he couldn't do anything for her, that he left her there to die. The guilt ate him up.

"It's okay."

Akihiko looked up.

"It's okay." she said again, softly, gently, "You shouldn't be sad. You said that yourself. You should be happy."

"…"

"I'm…glad." she continued, "I'm glad to have met you, to have spent some time with you, so I'm not sad that you're leaving."

"…You're right." Akihiko finally looked in eye contact with her.

Remembering about his sister made him remember something else. Someone else that he needed to protect. Her smile, her kind words of encouragement, her selflessness. He remembered about her as well.

"Thank you. It's thanks to you that I finally remember why I needed to go back in the first place."

"Huh, oh, that's alright…"

"I feel like I owe you something." Akihiko reached his back pocket, "I'm sorry that I yelled at you last night, I was probably just trying to forget about her again."

He took out that same old picture that he had last night. He showed it to Kyoko. In the picture was a younger version of himself, a brown-haired boy, and a small girl holding Akihiko's hand.

"That girl, the one right there…" Akihiko pointed to her, "She is my sister… She…she…died…."

Kyoko looked at him with shock. "I'm sorry-"

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anybody's fault." he replied, "It was an accident."

Akihiko paused, but continued, "All this time, I've been blaming myself for her death. I felt as if I couldn't protect her, that I was too weak. …But then she came along…" Akihiko pulled out another picture. It was the picture of the red-haired girl and Akihiko, holding each other and smiling in the photo booth.

"She's a special someone I've met a while back. She always listen to what I had to say, she was always patient, never once complained. At first, I saw my younger sister in her, but then I realized she was more than that, much more than that. That's why I have to go back…"

Akihiko then looked at Kyoko again, "I wanted to apologize to you as well. I kept seeing my younger sister in you to as well. But, you're not her, you're you. "

Kyoko didn't say a word. She had nothing to reply back to. She just stared straight at Akihiko.

"I'm sorry, I made this really awkward haven't I?" Akihiko chuckled, "I didn't mean to bring this all onto you. I just wanted you to know."

"I don't mind…" Kyoko replied, "I feel happy that you shared that with me. Big brother…he never tells me a lot of things. Like why he gets hurt, or why he's involved in such dangerous things."

Akihiko smiled, then let out a laughed, "Coming from a big brother like myself, I'd say he's just trying to protect you. He doesn't want you to worry. If you can, try trusting him, have a little faith in him, I'm sure he's doing what he can."

"I guess you're right…"

From there on, Akihiko and Kyoko talked about various things until the time for Akihiko to depart was near. The car drove quietly into the street, a few houses away from Kyoko's. Akihiko waved goodbye to her, as he ran towards the car. There, he finally met Ryohei. At first, he looked surprise to see that the resemblance between him and Ryohei was uncanny, but he knew he had to make it short and sweet.

"Hey Ryohei. Your sister, take good care of her. Don't let her get hurt, protect her with your life, you got that?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? I'll always protect Kyoko! I'll protect her to the extreme!" he yelled.

"Heh, glad to hear that. Hey, once you get older, come back to Port Island. I'll invite you to spar with me, alright?"

"You got it senpai!" Ryohei and Akihiko gave each other a firm handshake before setting off.

Akihiko sat in the car, staring outside the window, thinking, thinking. He thought about what he was going to do when he got home. He thought about where he was going to take her once he got back, and what they were going to do, where they were going to eat. He thought about the birthday present he was going to give her, as well as the cake he was going to buy. He thought about a lot of things, and how he was going to make them come true.

By the time he came to, he saw the ocean glimmering in the horizon, the city that he lived in, slowly coming in view. He was home.

**Notes: The whole pulling thing in the beginning of the story. I dunno, just blame it on the shadows or something. Some magical mojo of having a persona. The person Akihiko is referring to? Yes, it is the mShe from P3P. Why no one notices the difference between Aki and Ryo? Because Reborn characters are stupid like that. Am I good at writing intros or endings, no, not really. I use a lot of ellipses? Yes, yes I do (an ellipse is '...') Not very good at writing action scenes either, whoops. I also really wanted to have Akihiko use his Persona, but I then realized that no one would be able to see it, since it's only usable during the dark hour (sans the case of Mitsuru's executions)**

** Also, some interesting facts about Akihiko and Ryohei. They are both:**

**Boxers (obvious)**

**White/grayish hair (Obvious)**

**Gray eye color (not so obvious?)**

**Virgo (wait what)**

**Have bandage powers on their head.**

**Both have a younger sister (Aki's sis is dead, while Ryo's is alive)**

**Both have an 'S' in their last name (Sasagawa and Sanada)**

**Ryohei is 168 cm, while Aki is 175.5 cm, which explains why Aki has such a hard time fitting in Ryohei's shoes.**


End file.
